What if Application Letters Were Written Like Rejection Letters?

Once upon a time, before the Internet, job seekers would desperately tear open envelopes with companies' return addresses on them in hopes of seeing the word, "Congratulations" or "We are pleased to offer..."

More often than not, they groaned at the opener, "Dear Applicant..."

And that got me to thinking - never a good thing, I'll be the first to admit - but what if applicants wrote letters with the same attentiveness that companies write rejection letters?  What if we sent out the same mindless form letters and generic correspondence that firms use when telling people, "Sorry, Charlie!" 

I can hear the push-back now.  "That's not fair!  Companies have to write hundreds of these letters.  There's no way they can possibly personalize them all!"  Well, guess what?  By my count, I've probably applied to well over 300 jobs over the past year, and so have many of my colleagues in the unemployment line.  Yet to my knowledge, we've all personalized each and every outreach letter because, well, that's just the way it's done. 

But what if it weren't that way?  What if an applicant could show the same level of courtesy and attention to a prospective employer that the employer shows the applicant?  What if the playing field was truly a level one?  (While I'm at it, what if we had world peace and a life of abundance?  But I digress...)  Maybe then we could write letters such as these...


Dear EMPLOYER:

Thank you for recently advertising the position that you are planning to fill from within.  Due to the volume of positions I am applying for, I regret I am not able to offer a personalized letter of application. 

After reviewing a number of advertised positions with area companies, I have decided that your firm best fits my hiring needs.  Please know that this was not an easy decision and that it was only reached after careful consideration and evaluation.  Therefore, I am attaching the requisite resume that is as generic as this correspondence and which has not been crafted or customized in any way.  Please consider me for employment with your firm.

Thank you for your interest in my candidacy.  I wish you well in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,


A Job Candidate